Kate sat with Elliot, Grandpa Buck, Hawk, Abby, and Riley in Jesse’s room at Foggy Ridge Medical Center, waiting for Jesse to come down from recovery after he’d had surgery to set his fractured right arm.
She listened as Virgil briefed them on what had happened to Jesse over the past twenty-six hours. She hung on every word Virgil said and tried to imagine all that her son had gone through.
“I’ll tell you what,” Virgil said. “Jesse is one tough kid with enough faith to make an apostle jealous. I’m amazed at the character that boy shows at such a young age. I can’t say I agree with his choice to go back and help Liam after Liam tried to kill him, but I am impressed with his Good Samaritan attitude.” Virgil turned to Elliot. “Whatever the recent advice you gave Jesse, he said to tell you it worked.”
Elliot smiled and squeezed Kate’s hand.
“What about Liam Berne?” Hawk said. “I guess he’s going to pull through?”
Virgil nodded. “The doctors say he should fully recover from the gunshot wound. It’s unfortunate that he was shot, but when Deputy Duncan saw Liam fighting with Slocum, each with a gun in his hand, and Jesse running away, he thought Jesse was in danger of imminent harm and acted accordingly. However, Liam’s also suffering from dehydration, loss of blood as well as cuts and bruises from the beating he took, and an infection in the leg that was gashed when the limb fell on it. He’ll need to be in the hospital for a while. Of course, he’s in sheriff’s department custody and will be under armed guard twenty-four-seven while he’s here.”
“What happens when he gets out of the hospital?” Kate asked.
“When he’s well enough to be released, he’s going to the county jail until his court date. He’s already waived his right to an attorney and pleaded guilty to capital murder, kidnapping, and attempted murder. There might be more charges filed later, but a judge will decide his sentence. On the charge of kidnapping and attempted murder, it should work in Liam’s favor that, in the end, he risked his life to save Jesse.”
“Will Jesse have to testify?” Elliot said.
“No, because there’s not going to be a trial. The judge will want to hear Jesse’s side of what happened, but that can be done privately.”
“Sheriff, who was this Slick fella?” Buck said.
“His real name was Painter Reed Slocum, Caucasian male, age forty-five, of Little Rock. He was wanted for bank robbery and killing a police officer in Higgins Springs. He has a record a mile long for breaking and entering, assault and battery, aggravated assault, illegal possession of a firearm, grand larceny, cruelty to animals, dog fighting, and the list goes on. And that doesn’t count the charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit murder, or attempted murder of Liam and Jesse that would have been filed. I’m never happy when a man dies on my watch, but in this case, I’d say justice has been served.”
“The dude was sadistic and evil,” Hawk said. “I can’t believe what he put my brother through.”
Virgil raised his eyebrows. “Pretty sick. But I also can’t wrap my brain around the fact that Liam put his life on the line to save Jesse after he’d already tried to kill him once, and then was ready to do it again to save his own neck.”
“My poor Jesse,” Kate said. “I hope he’s still the same sweet boy after all this.”
Virgil moved his gaze from Kate to Elliot, then back to Kate. “Oddly enough, it wouldn’t surprise me if he is. I mean, listening to Jesse’s reasoning about why he went back to help Liam and what he hoped to achieve is amazing enough. But when things didn’t go as planned, Jesse told me he was prepared to die, if that’s what God had required of him. I don’t understand that. How does a twelve-year-old—or anyone, for that matter—have that kind of resolve and peace in those circumstances?”
“Only by death,” Elliot said. “Not physical death, but the spiritual process of dying to self. It’s really the story of the Christian life—or should be. Jesse and I talked about it when he was struggling at school. Of course, I had no idea that it would ever be tested like this, or that he would respond with such spiritual insight. I’m so proud of him.”
“We all are.” Kate dabbed her eyes. “I’m just grateful he escaped with nothing worse than he did. And that the blow he took to the back of his neck didn’t cause permanent damage.”
“After a few days here of eating like a prince and getting those fluids replenished, he’ll be ready to go home.” Virgil rose to his feet. “I imagine that arm is going to be sore for a while, but I think we all agree, it’s a miracle we found him alive.”
Kate got up and put her arms around Virgil. “Thank you so much for not giving up when it looked hopeless. You have been such a blessing to this family and I can never thank you enough.”
“It’s thanks enough that Jesse’s going to be okay,” Virgil said. “But I’m not going to tell you I was just doing my job. I think you know this was personal. Y’all are like family.”
“Which is why you and Jill Beth must come for dinner after Jesse comes home. You should share the joy.”
“We’d be honored.” Virgil blinked to clear his eyes. He reached over and shook hands with Elliot, Hawk, and Buck, then kissed Abby and Riley on the cheek. “I’m going to get out of your hair and go speak to the media. Jesse should be coming down from recovery anytime now.”
Jesse felt the softness of cotton sheets against his skin and realized he was toasty warm and not shivering. He smelled rubbing alcohol—and coffee. And heard the beep … beep … beep of a machine that sounded like the one in Grandpa Buck’s hospital room after he had his hip replaced. He slowly opened his eyes at the sound of his mother’s voice. For a few seconds he was confused and couldn’t figure out where he was. And then … he remembered. He was at Foggy Ridge Medical Center. He was safe.
“Jesse’s waking up,” Kate said. She smiled and gently brushed her fingers through his hair. “Jesse, you’re in the hospital. Virgil rescued you. You’ve had surgery to repair a compound fracture of your right arm. Do you remember?”
Jesse nodded. He counted six smiling faces looking down at him. “I … love … you to … the moon … and back,” he whispered.
“We love you too,” Kate said.
“I’ve been wanting … to tell you … but I never thought … I ever would.”
Elliot squeezed Jesse’s hand. “I can’t know what you’ve been through, but Virgil said you had enough faith to make an apostle jealous.”
Jesse felt a grin stretch his cheeks. “The sheriff … really said that?”
“He sure did.” Grandpa Buck’s lips quivered. “We were prayin’, but I knew you were talkin’ to God out there. Never a doubt in my mind.”
“You know you’re going to be a hero at school,” Hawk said. “You have every right to be proud of that cast. Now everyone’s going to know the truth about my little brother. Even Bull Hanson.”
Jesse touched the cast on his right arm and the sling holding it in place. “Cool. Y’all have to sign it.”
“We will. Later,” his mother said. “The nurse ordered you a cheeseburger for lunch. I don’t know if you’re up to eating, but—”
“Are you kidding me?” Jesse said. “I’m starved. All I thought about all Saturday night was your spaghetti.”
“Of course you did.” Abby laughed.
Riley touched his cast with her index finger. “I’m glad you’re coming home. I’ve only had you for my brother for two years. I told God that wasn’t long enough.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about all of you,” Jesse said. “I was sorry I never told you how much I love you.”
“I guess we all learned that lesson.” Grandpa Buck winked. “Best we tell the people we love how we feel while we still can. Never know what’s down the road.”
“What happened to Mr. Berne?” Jesse said.
“Liam and Slick were both shot by Deputy Duncan,” Elliot replied. “He had every reason to think you were in grave danger.”
“Are they … dead?”
“Slick died before they got him to the hospital. But Liam should recover fully from the gunshot wound. It’s going to take awhile. He also has a badly infected leg, and is suffering from dehydration. Plus, he had cuts and bruises and had lost a lot of blood from the beating he took.”
“He’s not really a bad man,” Jesse said. “I know he did some bad things. But he was sorry. All he wanted was to get me home safe.”
Hawk rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure I’m ready to hear about what a good man Liam Berne is.”
“I know he’s going to prison,” Jesse said. “I want to talk to him before he goes. Do you think Sheriff Granger would let me?”
“I’m not even sure I’ll let you,” Kate said. “Why would you want to do that?”
Jesse shrugged. “I care about him.”
“There’ll be plenty of time to talk about this later,” Elliot said. “For now, let’s just enjoy having Jesse back.”
“Elliot, would you check on Mr. Berne? Please?” Jesse’s eyes were pleading. “It would mean a lot to me if you could just let him know I’m thinking of him. And that I’m grateful he risked his life so I could get away.”
Elliot looked over at Kate and then at Jesse. “If Virgil gives the green light, and it’s okay with your mother, I don’t suppose it could hurt.”
Kate nodded. “If Virgil says it’s all right.”
Elliot glanced at his watch. “I’ll head down to Liam’s room and see if the guard can page Virgil before he leaves the building.”
Elliot walked to the end of the shiny marble corridor and saw Virgil talking to the armed guard outside Liam Berne’s hospital room.
“Just the man I want to see,” Elliot said.
“What’s up? Jesse okay?” Virgil said.
“Yes, he’s fine. We’re all thrilled to have him back.” Elliot glanced over at the armed guard and then at Virgil. “Jesse’s concerned about Liam’s condition and pleaded with me to go check on him. He wants Liam to know he’s grateful Liam risked his life so he could escape.”
“He also tracked him down and nearly killed him.” Virgil’s eyebrows came together. “You really want to eyeball Liam Berne after all he put Jesse through?”
“Not really. I want to relay Jesse’s sentiments to Liam because it’s important to Jesse.”
Virgil sighed. “You do know it’s not uncommon for a victim to get attached to his captor, right?”
“Jesse went back to help Liam before he had time to get attached. I think this is more akin to the Good Samaritan feeling the need to check on the man he went back to rescue, who ended up rescuing him. Only Jesse can’t do it so he asked me. I don’t need to stay long.”
Virgil seemed to be thinking. Finally, he said, “All right. But I want to be present. Let me caution you not to get into the specifics of what happened. This is still an open investigation.”
“Fair enough.”
Virgil said something to the armed guard, and then Elliot followed Virgil inside.
Liam lay in the hospital bed, one eye swollen shut, his face badly cut and bruised. He was hooked up to several IV drips, one containing blood. His right leg was bandaged and elevated, and his upper right arm and shoulder were layered with bandages. Elliot was surprisingly moved with compassion.
Virgil walked over to his bedside. “Liam, there’s someone here to see you. Elliot Stafford. He’s a close friend of Jesse’s family.”
“If you came here to chew me out, there’s nothing you could say to me that I haven’t already said to myself a hundred times.”
“That’s not why I’m here,” Elliot said. “Jesse insisted I come check on you. He wants you to know that he’s thinking about you. And that he’s grateful you risked your life so he could get away.”
Liam’s eyes glistened. He swallowed hard. “That Jesse’s something else. Never met anyone like him.”
“A lot of us agree with that, especially his mother.”
“For what it’s worth, I thanked God he’s going to be okay,” Liam said, his voice softer. “The world needs more people like him.”
“Amen to that.” Elliot ran his finger along the bed rail. Should he stop there or say what was on his mind? “I want you to know that the family is sorry you got shot. The authorities had no way of knowing that you were trying to protect Jesse.”
“Of course they didn’t. I don’t blame them.” Liam looked away and seemed to be thinking. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“How does a twelve-year-old kid get sold out to God?”
Elliot smiled. “One day at a time. Jesse’s got a tender conscience and a sincere desire to please God. He takes his walk with God seriously.”
“I suppose you know the only reason Jesse ended up in Slick’s clutches is because he was afraid I wouldn’t survive the night out in the cold and came back to help me,” Liam said. “Despite the fact that I nearly killed him.”
“Yes, the sheriff told us that Jesse wouldn’t leave you out there.”
“I got all over him for it, and he said he wanted to be like the Good Samaritan. Said he couldn’t leave me in the woods injured and unable to function.”
“Sounds like Jesse.”
“Says a lot about what he’s made of.” Liam lifted his head and looked Elliot in the eyes. “I need to say something. I–I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all the pain I caused Jesse, and his family. I’m not making excuses and I don’t expect them to forgive me for it. But I really am sorry. I’d give anything to go back and undo it.”
“Jesse forgave you. I assure you he’s not holding any hostility. He just wants to be sure you know how grateful he is that you put your life on the line for him.”
“He’s a bigger man than I am,” Liam said. “Would you tell Jesse something for me? Tell him I’ll see him again.”
“Gentlemen, this visit is over.” Virgil stepped over to the bed, his arms folded across his chest. “You need to get something through your head, Liam. You’re going away for life. And there’s zero chance you’re going to see Jesse—ever.”
“Ever’s awfully final, Sheriff.”
“That’s my point.”
Elliot took a step back. “It’s okay, Virgil. I said what I came to say. I should get back to Kate and the kids. Thanks for letting me be the messenger. It was important to Jesse.”
“Please tell Jesse what I said.” Liam’s voice sounded weak. “That’s all I ask.”
Elliot was uncomfortable with the idea of any back-and-forth conversations between Liam and Jesse and didn’t know how to respond, so he said nothing and stepped out into the hall with Virgil.
“Sorry for being so abrupt,” Virgil said. “I think we should put an end to whatever relationship these two think they have. It’s a no-win, and I don’t want Jesse being manipulated by this guy.”
“Fine with me. I’m sure Kate would agree. Thanks for letting me do this one thing for Jesse. Hopefully, it will give him some closure.”